


Take The Plunge

by lazy_daze



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-14
Updated: 2013-02-14
Packaged: 2017-11-29 07:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/684563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lazy_daze/pseuds/lazy_daze
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valentine's Day Lilo schmoop! Basically! in which they are their adorable oblivious selves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take The Plunge

"So what have you and Louis got planned for tomorrow then?" asks Niall, wedging himself onto the sofa next to Liam. There's not really enough room, because Zayn is sleeping over most of it and Liam is slotted in between Zayn's feet and the arm of the sofa, but Liam just drags Zayn's feet onto his lap and budges up so Niall can fit his bony arse in. It's getting towards the end of a fairly long day at the studio doing rehearsals, and they're all sort of lounging around unwinding before the cars get here.

"Hmm?" says Liam.

"Tomorrow," says Niall. "You and Lou."

"Er," says Liam. "I dunno, nothing? Why?"

"Oh," says Niall, and gives him a funny look. "Oh okay, I thought you'd - well, I mean, it is a bit stupid, innit, like, commercial crap--"

Zayn's feet twitch on Liam's lap, and he flails around a bit, struggling to sit up. "Niall," he says groggily but urgently. "Shut up, man!"

"What?"

"Just - shut up!" 

Niall and Zayn have a silent conversation with their eyebrows, and Niall stares at Liam for long enough that Liam starts to get very alarmed.

"I am very confused," he announces.

Niall shakes his head. "You are a bit of an idiot, aren't you, Liam?"

"Hey!" says Liam affronted, and Zayn rub his foot soothingly along Liam's leg. 

"Leave him alone, " says Zayn to Niall. "They'll get there."

Niall shakes his head and bounds up off the sofa. "I'm can't deal with you right now. I'm going to go eat."

Zayn settles himself back in the corner of the sofa, legs splayed over Liam's lap. "Y'alright, mate?" he says.

Liam can feel his eyebrows are drawn together tightly. "What was that about? Why am I an idiot?"

"You're not, don't worry."

"Today is Wednesday. The thirteenth of February."

Zayn nods.

"So - tomorrow is a Thursday."

Zayn nods again.

"The fourteenth."

Zayn shrugs.

"That's Valentine's Day, though."

Zayn shrugs again and looks decidedly shifty.

"Is that what Niall was talking about?" Liam demands. He doesn't know why Niall would be, but.

Zayn shrugs again, a little panicked about the eyes. "Really not a conversation you should be having with me, mate."

"There's a conversation to have?" says Liam, probably sounding a bit hysterical but - seriously!

"What? No! Maybe? I'm going back to sleep," says Zayn hurriedly and lies back down, closing his eyes resolutely, and doesn't even open them when Liam leans over and pokes at his face. He even throws in a tiny fake snore.

"Ugh," says Liam in disgust, shoving Zayn's legs off his lap and standing up. "You're completely useless." He paces the room a bit, then decides to go to the cafeteria.

Niall probably didn't mean anything by it. There'd be no reason for Liam and Louis to have any plans specifically tomorrow just because tomorrow is Valentine's Day because it's not like they're going out or anything, that would be weird. And hilarious. Really funny! Liam lets out a nervous giggle which echoes sort of sadly around the empty corridor.

Fuck Niall, honestly. Stupid little...Irish person. What does he know?

Liam has just decided the best thing to do will be find Louis and laugh about Niall being a weirdo, when a door opens a little way down the corridor from where he's standing doing nothing like a lemon, and Louis comes out of the door. Or rather, it looks like he's pushed out of the door by Harry, if the flash of curls and big grin and fierce whisper of "Do it!" is anything to go by.

Louis staggers a little, spins back to the door that Harry has just slammed, then turns again and stops abruptly as he sees Liam, who is still just standing there.

"Oh!" says Louis. "I was just looking for you!"

"Me too," says Liam. Louis is still in a nice top from rehearsal, but he's changed back into one of his endless pairs of jogging bottoms, and his hair has gone sort of shapeless and crumpled, and he looks ridiculous. Liam's chest feels sort of wobbly with how much he likes him. Not - like _that_ , but just. He likes Louis a lot.

Louis grins at him and flaps his hands around randomly. "Looks like we found each other!"

"Niall said something weird to me earlier," Liam says with a forced laugh, at the same time Louis is saying, "Wanna do something fun tomorrow?"

They look at each other for a few long seconds.

"Er," says Liam.

Louis fiddles with his hair and makes it look worse. "What did Niall say?"

"Nothing," says Liam hurriedly. "Something about food. Or. I don't think it was important. Isn't tomorrow--?"

"Yes," says Louis, weirdly serious, with his chin pushed forward a bit like he's being brave.

Liam looks at him, and for a moment it feels a bit like the time he and Louis went bungee jumping - just that moment when they stood on the edge, when Liam actually, properly realised what they were about to do and how massive it was and how he thought for a minute that he _couldn't_ , it was too scary, but he looked at Louis grinning at him and then it was just brilliant.

But then something twists over Louis's face and he drops his chin and laughs weirdly. "Not like! You know! Not because, I mean, it just happens to be. It's not because of - just, I'm bored and we should do something just - hey, let's just, everyone, let's all go out and have fun, absolutely everyone, because it's not a thing, I just--"

"Of course," says Liam hurriedly, because Louis needs to stop rambling with that unfamiliar wild look in his eyes and Liam needs a moment of silence to stop his brain running in useless, endless little circles like a hamster in a wheel, like one of those cool glow-in-the-dark ones he had when he was little and his hamster was called Robert and Louis is just staring at him. "Of course," Liam says again, nodding a lot. "And not because - because that would be - but I mean, in general, yes, we should do something fun. Yes! What should we do?"

"Oh, something," says Louis vaguely. "But yes. Brilliant! Brilliant brilliant. I will - talk to you later. Tomorrow! When we all do something."

Louis is fiddling with his hair even more vehemently and keeps looking back at the door Harry had pushed him out of like he wants nothing more than to run back through it, and Liam feels wobbly in his chest again but not really in a good way this time.

He wants to walk over to Louis and stop him fiddling with his hair, wrap his hands around Louis's small wrists and pulls his hands away, and maybe put his own hands in Louis's hair to try and fix it, and Louis would look up at him through his eyelashes and grin because he doesn't like most people touching his hair but he likes Liam doing it and he would be really close and warm, and the glow-in-the-dark hamster wheel in his head finally just _stops_ spinning and Robert jumps out and says in a voice that sounds like Zayn's, 'you _do_ like him _like that_ , you absolute twat!'

Liam blinks rapidly a few times. He might be going a bit insane.

Louis has turned around and is scrabbling for the handle of the door Harry is behind - Liam guesses Harry is a pushier less avoidant version of Zayn to Louis - and Liam says, loudly and incoherently, "Um!"

Louis stops and turns around.

"Hello?" he says.

"Hi."

Louis blinks at him. "Hi, Liam."

"Er."

Louis steps away from the door and throws his hands up dramatically in the air. "Oh for goodness' sake! Spit out out!"

"Tomorrow is Valentine's Day."

Louis actually goes pink and he looks down, tightening his mouth. "Yes, yes it is. Thank you for clearing that up, Liam."

"No!" says Liam too loudly. "I mean, yes! It is. And. Yes, we should do something. But it should just be us and it should be _because_ it's - it's you know, er. Valentine's Day. Because I think maybe we - I? - we - have been sort of idiots."

Louis just stares at him for a while, still pink, but it looks like a pleased sort of pink.

"If," he says, eventually, mouth curling up at the corners like he can't help it, "You only figured this out during the course of this conversation, then I officially refuse to include myself in that 'we'."

"Oh shut up," says Liam, feeling his face go hot, though he's also possibly grinning like an idiot. Robert is doing victory laps on the hamster wheel in his head. "When did you figure it out, then?"

"Oh Liam Payne, I've known for a very long time we were destined to be--"

The door opens and Harry sticks his head out, yells, "He only realised he fancied you _yesterday_!" and slams the door shut.

Louis is fully red, now, but he sticks his chin out again and says, "Whatever, I still beat you."

Liam raises his eyebrows. "I don't think it's a competition?"

"You're only saying that because you lost," says Louis, then flaps his hand around. "Shh. Listen. I know we were talking about tomorrow, but I mean - do we have to wait - can I just try something now?"

"Yes," says Liam easily. He should probably be alarmed that he's always going to say yes to Louis, but he's accepted that about himself a long time ago.

"Right," says Louis, then he sort of scurries forward and pops up onto his tiptoes to press a kiss directly on Liam's mouth.

Liam's whole body flushes hot with a swoop of giddy warmth, and when Louis pulls back, he says, "Oh," and touches his fingers to his lips like a heroine in a romance novel or something.

Louis is blinking rapidly at him, twisting his fingers in the hem of Liam's shirt. "Oui? Non?" he says quickly. Liam puts both his hands on Louis's face in answer, and leans back down to kiss him properly. Louis's mouth is new under his, all warm and soft and tasting lovely, and Liam suddenly can't believe he's gone so long - months and months and forever! - having so much of Louis and not having this. He pulls back, letting his mouth brush Louis's as he speak. "Oui, yes," he says. "Er, I don't know any other languages. Yes times a lot."

Louis giggles at him. "You're a bit of an idiot, Liam Payne."

"People keep calling me that today," says Liam frowning.

"It's okay. You're our idiot." Louis presses a kiss to the edge of Liam's jaw and then moves to say in his ear, "My idiot."

It probably says something about their - about them, that this sounds like the most wonderful thing Liam's ever heard.


End file.
